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Kyle Busch was among the leaders on the speed chart during the first day of testing at Daytona International Speedway. Photo by GETTY IMAGES

Four-time NASCAR Sprint Cup Series champion Jeff Gordon on Thursday led the morning test-session at Daytona International Speedway and Kyle Busch led the afternoon session during the opening day of Cup running at the famous venue. The annual preseason testing continues on Friday and Saturday and leads into the Feb. 17 opening of Speedweek 2012 in Daytona Beach, Fla.

The rest of the top 10 in the afternoon session were Johnson (Chevy), Denny Hamlin (Toyota), Kasey Kahne (Chevy), and Mark Martin and teammate Clint Bowyer in Toyotas.

Thirty-one of the 32 drivers scheduled to test ran in the first session (Dave Blaney missed it), and all 32 ran the second. NASCAR required drivers to run the first session individually but allowed them to run in the two-car, “love bug” tandem-style formations in the second session.

In other NASCAR news:

-- NASCAR has a new rule forbidding drivers from talking directly to other drivers during restrictor-plate races. It's part of an effort to eliminate tandem-style “formation” racing at Daytona and Talladega Superspeedway. In recent years, drivers and spotters have worked together via radio to arrange which drivers would hook up with other drivers, when each driver would lead, when they would swap positions and when they were going to pit. NASCAR said it hopes the ban on driver-to-driver communication will help break up the two-car packs that fans have said they don't want.

-- In addition to his limited Cup involvement with Tommy Baldwin Racing, David Reutimann will run between 13 and 15 Camping World Truck Series races for Ricky Benton Racing. The team will expand its schedule if it finds more sponsorship for Reutimann, who expects to run 26 Cup races for TBR.

-- Oft-injured action-sports and X Games star Travis Pastrana expects to run the entire NASCAR K&N Pro Series East season and at least seven Nationwide races for Pastrana Waltrip Racing this season. Pastrana planned to make his Nationwide debut last summer, but a broken ankle suffered during the X Games forced him and the team to delay his return to NASCAR until this spring.

-- Jason Leffler expects to run at least 14 of this season's 22 Camping World Truck Series races for team owner Kyle Busch. Dollar General Store will sponsor Leffler for those 14 races while Busch continues to look for backing for his No. 18 Toyota for the other eight.

-- Virginia-based Smithfield Foods will be the primary sponsor for Aric Almirola in 15 races this year with Richard Petty Motorsports. Petty acknowledged on Thursday that he considered hiring Kurt Busch for his No. 43 Ford but found that sponsors were more comfortable with the idea of Almirola in their car than Busch.

-- Turner Motorsports will run Hendrick Motorsports driver Kasey Kahne in 15 Nationwide races this year, and will employ open-wheel star Brad Sweet in the team's Chevrolet for the other 18 races. Sweet, who drives for Kasey Kahne Racing in the Sprint Car and World of Outlaws series, will compete for the Nationwide rookie of the year award. Mike Shiplett has been named the Chevrolet-based team's crew chief.